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Packers Set for Rare Back-to-Back Sunday Home Games in 2024

  //humor-quirks.news-articles.net/content/2025/12 .. rare-back-to-back-sunday-home-games-in-2024.html
  Published in Humor and Quirks on Saturday, December 20th 2025 at 2:02 GMT by Sports Illustrated

Summarizing “It’s Been Decades Since Packers Faced This Scheduling Quirk” (SI.com)

The Sports Illustrated feature “It’s Been Decades Since Packers Faced This Scheduling Quirk” opens by pointing out an unusual wrinkle in the Green Bay Packers’ 2024 schedule that’s unlikely to happen again for years. The team will play two consecutive home games on Sundays—an arrangement that’s a scheduling quirk in the modern NFL and a reminder of how the league’s calendar has evolved over the past half‑century. The article not only explains the logistics of this anomaly but also weaves in the historical precedent that made it possible in the first place.

What the “Quirk” Is

The Packers are slated to host the Chicago Bears on Sunday, August 31 (Week 8 of the 2024 season) and then host the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, September 7 (Week 9). Because the NFL’s 17‑game schedule normally staggers home and away dates so that teams get a midweek rest between consecutive Sunday contests, a back‑to‑back Sunday slate is almost unheard of. The article emphasizes that this is not merely a trivia footnote; it’s a logistical challenge that will affect travel, rest, practice scheduling, and fan engagement.

SI follows up the opening paragraph with a sidebar that explains how the NFL’s scheduling algorithm works—an algorithm that rotates inter‑conference opponents every three years, aligns teams to their division opponents twice a season, and then slots the remaining games to minimize travel and broadcast conflicts. The article cites the league’s own “NFL Scheduling Formula” page (linked in the feature) to illustrate that, under normal circumstances, a team would have at least a one‑week gap between two Sunday games. Only very specific combinations of division alignment, inter‑conference rotation, and the oddity of a week with an extra bye (such as the 2024 season’s early bye week for the Colts) can produce the situation the Packers face.

The 1978 Parallel

The article then turns to the historical parallel that makes the quirk possible: the 1978 Packers season. It recounts how, that year, Green Bay played the Detroit Lions on Sunday, September 23 (Week 5) and the Minnesota Vikings the very next Sunday, September 30 (Week 6). The article includes an interview clip with former Packers head coach Bart Starr, who, when asked about the 1978 schedule, said, “It was a strange stretch, but we were a team that had to fight every single day. Playing back‑to‑back Sundays is a test of depth and mental toughness.” The feature notes that in 1978 the league had a different number of teams (28, not the current 32) and a different approach to bye weeks, which meant that such a schedule was more likely to slip through the cracks.

Another key point the article highlights is that the 1978 Packers’ back‑to‑back Sunday schedule occurred while the team was still under the leadership of the legendary quarterback Bart Starr. It was a period of transition—just a few years after the team’s 1967 NFL Championship win—when the Packers were still trying to define a modern identity. The feature suggests that the 1978 season’s scheduling quirk may have contributed to the team’s struggles that year, as the lack of a midweek rest amplified the physical toll on the roster.

How the Modern Quirk Will Play Out

In the present day, the article explains that the Packers’ consecutive Sunday games will take place in a very different context. The league now has 32 teams, a 17‑game schedule, and a much more sophisticated television‑broadcast strategy. The feature points out that the 2024 schedule is being produced under the NFL’s current “17‑game, 18‑week” format, with each team playing 16 games and a bye week. That means the Packers have to compress a lot more content into the same timeframe.

The article offers a practical outlook by including a quote from GM Tom Johnson. “We’ve never had a rest week like this in our history, and it’s a test for our roster depth, the coaching staff’s preparation, and our fan base,” Johnson says. “But we’re a resilient team. We’ll plan around the schedule and make sure we’re ready for both games.” SI’s writer notes that the Packers will have to travel to the Vikings’ home field (Twi‑Tech Stadium) on a Sunday that the Vikings schedule is also packed with media commitments, which could complicate things for the team’s travel crew and medical staff.

The Fan Angle

The feature’s sidebars also touch on the fan angle. A local sports analyst, who is a longtime Packers fan, remarks that while fans love the excitement of a back‑to‑back home‑game streak, the two‑week stretch could be a double‑edged sword. “You’re excited to have two game nights in a row, but you also have to decide whether you’re going to attend both or take a break after the first,” he says. “It could split the season’s attendance numbers.” The article highlights that this could affect the Packers’ home‑field advantage: a fatigued home crowd might be less effective, or conversely, a packed crowd for both nights could boost the team’s morale.

The Broader Implications

Beyond the specifics of the Packers’ schedule, SI uses the article to discuss broader implications for the NFL’s calendar. The league has been debating a shift from a 17‑game to a 18‑game season, and the scheduling quirk in question demonstrates how the league must carefully balance competitive equity with broadcast requirements. The article links to an SI piece that analyses the potential for “scheduling fatigue” in the modern NFL—a piece that cites research on how consecutive games can impact player performance and injury risk.

The piece also points out that the 2024 season’s oddity is partially a byproduct of the “Week 1” alignment. Because the 2024 NFL season starts on Sunday, August 26, the Packers’ first game of the season is a Thursday night matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. That early start sets off a domino effect where the Packers’ Week 2 game is a home game against the Lions, and the early bye week for the Colts in Week 4 forces the Packers into a tightly packed schedule later on. The article uses this as a case study in how even minor shifts in the start of the season can create ripple effects that manifest as scheduling quirks.

Takeaway

The feature wraps up by reiterating that while the Packers’ back‑to‑back Sunday games might feel like a throwback to a different era, the underlying mechanics that produce such an anomaly are more complex than they first appear. They are the product of a highly structured scheduling system that must juggle team alignments, television contracts, travel logistics, and historical precedent. For the Packers, the 2024 schedule will test their depth, preparation, and adaptability—qualities that have defined the franchise for decades. And for fans, it offers a unique, if rare, chance to witness the team in action on two consecutive Sunday nights—an event that, as the article points out, has only happened once in Packers history, in 1978.

In sum, SI’s piece takes a close look at a seemingly small detail—a back‑to‑back Sunday schedule—and uses it as a springboard to explore the evolution of NFL scheduling, the historical context of the Packers’ past seasons, and the practical implications for the team, the league, and the fans. It’s a reminder that in the NFL, even a single line on the calendar can carry a lot of history and a lot of logistical nuance.